


Parasite Dreams

by NerdyNostalgia



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Arguing, Chapter 2: Angst with Happy ending, Dream World, Dreaming, Emotional pain, Heavy Angst, Implied/Referenced Suicide, M/M, Man is never mentioned by name, Mental Parasite, Parasite kills you in your dreams, Post-Canon, Shiro's marriage is mentioned vaguely, Stuck in a Dream, fantasies, promise of something more
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-18
Updated: 2020-04-17
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:48:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23709427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NerdyNostalgia/pseuds/NerdyNostalgia
Summary: Keith was sick, he was dying. A parasitic alien bug had latched onto him and sent him into a coma. No-one had been able to get him out and it was Shiro's turn to try. If they couldn't get him out of the dream then he would die. Could he do it? Could he reach Keith in time and save him?
Relationships: Keith/Shiro (Voltron)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 42





	1. Sad Ending

Shiro had jumped on the first ship available when he got word that Keith was in trouble. He didn’t really understand what had happened but knew that Keith had been put into a coma by some kind of creature that was going to kill him if they couldn’t convince Keith to fight and try to find his way out of the dream.

He had arrived at the Blades base and was immediately taken to Keith. The Paladins and Krolia were in the room, looking rather sombre. No one had been able to convince Keith to leave the dream, not even his mother. He was the last person to try.

He sat in the chair next to the bed Keith laid on and grimaced at the ugly looking creature that had attached itself to the side of Keith’s head. He swallowed as his stomach lurched uncomfortably at the sight of Keith being so helpless. He almost couldn’t believe this himself as Keith was the strongest person he knew and to see him like this was unnerving.

“You’ll enter his mind. Try to convince him to leave the dream. If you don’t he’ll die.” Krolia said tersely.

Shiro nodded. He looked at Keith and reached out his hand to take ahold of Keith’s. Without looking up he said, “I’m ready.”

He felt exhausted all of a sudden and closed his eyes as the world faded around.

* * *

He opened his eyes and he saw nothing but desert. He couldn’t help but wonder what Keith would want here. He turned around and saw a house he didn’t recognise. He walked towards it and the shadow of a smaller building poked out.

He followed the shadow and was surprised to find the smaller house was the shack. So this house must be the house Keith had grown up in. He must have rebuilt it in his dream. Shiro wondered what else was different.

He made his way to the house, not sure what he was going to find. His eyes widened when he looked in through the kitchen window. Whatever he was expecting it wasn’t that. His jaw dropped, his stomach sank and his heart squeezed painfully at the sight.

Inside the kitchen Keith was dancing with a dream version of himself. The two danced along to a nondescript song. The other version of Shiro spun Keith around before dipping him. He pulled him back up and pulled Keith impossibly closer. Keith looked up at him with such love and devotion that Shiro felt like he was intruding. The two inside then leaned in and kissed as their joined hands were held between them.

Shiro watched transfixed as his deepest fantasy played out in front of him. As the pair inside pulled apart Shiro pulled his eyes away. He didn’t feel like he should watch anymore. But he also couldn’t believe that this was Keith’s ultimate fantasy – a quiet life with him.

Something in him stirred deep down. It was the feelings and dreams that he had buried but right now he couldn’t think of why he had buried them. Fear of rejection, that he’d misunderstood, cowardice. Whatever it was he hated himself that he could’ve had all as his reality if he had just spoken up.

His feet took him away from the window as he walked away. What could he say to Keith to get him to come out of this? He hadn’t exactly treated Keith well recently. In fact he had barely treated him as more than an acquaintance and he hated himself for it. But he knew he had to try. He couldn’t let Keith die even if he never spoke to him again.

“Shiro? What are you doing out here?” Keith called out.

Shiro stopped and was hesitant to turn around. He swallowed and turned around. He saw Keith’s eyes widen for a moment before a glare settled on his features. He stormed towards Shiro and stopped a few paces away.

“Get out!” He demanded, “Leave me alone!”

“Keith…”

Keith shook his head, “No, you don’t get to do this. You don’t get to take my happiness away from me again.”

Shiro took a step forward and Keith took a step back. The younger man crossed his arms and shook his head again.

“Why do you always do this? Why do you always do this to me?” Keith’s voice was barely above a whisper but Shiro still heard him over the desert wind, but he was confused. What did Keith mean?

“Keith, I’m here to…”

Keith batted his hand away as he attempted to reach out and glared at him again, “I know why you’re here. You’re here for the same reasons the others came here. To get me to leave the dream.”

“We just want you to be safe Keith. We don’t want to see you die.”

Keith laughed and it sent an unpleasant shiver down Shiro’s spine, “Do you? Every single one of you dropped me after the war. We are barely in contact with each other apart from the annual dinner. It’s the only time we talk and none of you even ask about me beyond wanting to know what the Blades are up to. None of you reach out or show an interest in my life. Why should I go back? I have lost everything and am forced to watch as you all live your lives when they have no place for me. Why would you ask me to go back to that?”

“We’ll be better. We’ll do better. I’m sorry that you feel that way. I’m sure we’ll all try to do better.” Shiro implored.

Keith shook his head, “All the others promised that too but I just don’t believe you. Let’s be real here, we were never friends. We were people who got stuck together to do a job. Once that job was over we all went our separate ways.”

Shiro opened his mouth to argue that point but he couldn’t exactly say that Keith was wrong. They had all gone their separate ways after the war and only really reconnected at the anniversary dinner. Even then their conversations were shallow and superficial nowadays. He shook his head anyway.

“We’ve never really dealt with Allura’s death, have we? We’ve all just wallowed in our own grief. I can only apologise for the past and promise to make amends in the future.”

Keith scoffed, “Ever the diplomat. I don’t want apologises. I’m not interested in them. Nor do I want promises. You’ve already broken every promise you ever made to me so your promises don’t mean much anymore.”

Shiro looked at him confused and tried to think of any promises he had broken. He knew he hadn’t been the best friend recently but he couldn’t think of any promises he had broken.

Keith laughed and shook his head, “You promised to never give up on me. Yet after the war, even before it…once we got back to Earth, you simply wanted nothing to do with me. You dropped me from your life as soon as you could.”

Shiro shook his head, “I never gave up on you and I never dropped you from my life. I’ll admit that I let work take over but I never gave up on you.”

Keith scoffed again, “You wanted nothing to do with me, even when I asked. You never once made time for me once we were on Earth.”

“Okay, I’m terrible at prioritising and made some mistakes. I’m sorry for that Keith but things are different now.”

Keith shook his head, “You could’ve done that once the war was over but you didn’t. Instead you shackled yourself to Earth despite the fact that your dream was to travel the stars. You gave up on me and you gave up on yourself.”

Keith stepped closer and pointed at Shiro, “You are only here now because you heard I was dying, and you don’t want to feel guilty that you didn’t do anything to prevent it.”

“That’s not true!”

“Yes it is! And you shouldn’t feel guilty. You’ve stood by and done nothing as I was in danger before so doing nothing now wouldn’t be out of character for you!”

“You are my best friend whether you like it or not so I am going to do what I can to save your life! I don’t want to live in a world without you in it. You deserve to live just as much as anyone else.”

Keith scoffed. He didn’t want to hear any of this. He was happy here. He didn’t particularly care at the moment that this was going to cause his death. At least he would die happy instead hurting as he was outside this dream world. He didn’t want to be in pain anymore. He wanted to be happy. He wanted something to go right in his life and he got it here. He didn’t in the real world. In the real world he’d been forced to watch as the man he loved walk away and marry someone else, and his friends move further away and live without him. Here his friends were part of his life and he was with the man he loved.

“You seem to be doing perfectly well without me,” Keith was growing tired, “Just leave Shiro. Go back to your white picket fence life where you’re nothing but a trophy husband. It’s clearly what you wanted so go back to it.”

“No, Keith, no. I’m not leaving you here.” Shiro shook his head and reached out for Keith but he stepped away.

“Well, you’ll have to because I’m not going back.”

“Keith, you have to…”

Keith turned to him and glared, “I don’t have to do anything. You have no idea what I’ve been through. You have no idea how much I hurt everyday. I don’t want to hurt anymore. I don’t want to be in pain everyday watching the people I love leave me over and over again. So no, Shiro I don’t have to go anywhere.”

“But you’ll die if you stay here.” Shiro’s voice was becoming thick with emotion and he knew he wasn’t going to win this argument. Keith had made up his mind and he was one of the most stubborn individuals Shiro had ever met. This felt like the turning point. If he couldn’t convince Keith now then he wouldn’t be able to save him.

“You think I don’t know that! But it’s better than the alternative. I don’t want to be in pain everyday of my life.”

“So what? You’re just going to stay here with this dream version of me, living a fictional life while that, that thing kills you?”

“I’m tired Shiro. I’m tired of hurting. I’m tired of having everything I love taken from me. I’m tired of the people I love not choosing me and walking away. At least here I’m someone’s first choice. Here I’m not in pain, I’m happy. Why can’t you let me be happy?” Tears began to fall from Keith’s eyes as his voice quietened down to a whisper.

Keith looked down at the ground, “Just this once, I want to be happy. I want to picked by someone I love.”

Shiro felt his heart shatter at Keith’s pain and hated himself that he had missed it. His best friend was hurting and he hadn’t noticed. How could he call himself Keith’s best friend when he had missed something so obvious?

He opened his mouth to say something but Keith shook his head and turned his back to Shiro, “Go away Shiro. Leave. Go home. I’m staying here,” He looked over his shoulder, “Consider this goodbye.”

Shiro faded from view and Keith was left stood alone. He headed back to the house where the other Shiro was waiting. The other Shiro leaned against the doorframe and walked over to him as Keith stepped onto the porch.

“How long have you known?” He asked.

“That this is a dream? Most of the time I’ve been here. When my friends started turning up it just confirmed it.” Keith said shrugging. He stepped into the other Shiro’s arms and hugged the man.

“Then why stay here?”

“Because like I told him, I’m happy here. I was in so much pain in the real world that being here offered a peace I haven’t known in a long time and I just can’t do it anymore.” He looked up at the taller man and smiled.

“I almost feel bad for killing you. It’s been a long time since I experienced someone in as much pain as you.”

Keith rested his head in Shiro’s chest. He didn’t have anything to say but he was willing to completely fall into the dream now. He leaned up and pressed a kiss to Shiro’s lips. He lost himself in the feel of the other man’s lips and so fell deeper into the dream.

The parasite then did it’s job and led Keith to believe that he led a full and happy life with Shiro.

* * *

Shiro gasped as he woke up. The Paladins rushed to him as his breathing calmed down but ignored them as his eyes never left Keith. He felt tears build and then fall. He leaned forward and squeezed Keith’s hand, “Please don’t give up Keith.”

Krolia watched Shiro’s reaction and her heart sank. Her son wasn’t coming back. Their last hope of getting Keith back had failed. Her eyes were glued to the man begging Keith to hold on and felt an intense hatred for him. He was the reason her son was now dying.

Suddenly the creature fell from Keith’s head and scuttled away quickly before anyone could get it. They watched with bated breaths to see what would happen. Keith released a breath but then didn’t breath back in. The heart monitored stopped and it dawned on everyone what they had just witnessed.

Keith was dead.

Krolia walked over to her son and smoothed his hair down before pressing a kiss to his forehead. She prayed he found his father in the next world. The two deserved to be together again.

The Paladins began to cry and Shiro sat as still as a statue. That hadn’t just happened. Keith hadn’t died. He hadn’t given up. He couldn’t have. He reached out when Krolia’s hand grabbed his wrist and moved his hand away.

She glared at him, “Get out.”

Her voice was quiet but contained more venom than anyone had ever heard from the Galra. Shiro could no nothing more than follow her instruction as he got up and walked out of the room. He stood numbly in front of the closed door and silently made his way over to the waiting area. He slid into the chair and stared at the floor. That hadn’t happened. He hadn’t just watched Keith take his last breath.

He had no idea how long he sat there when he noticed someone was stood in front of him. He looked up and saw it was Lance. Lance nodded and sat down beside him. He smiled sadly and put his arm around Shiro’s shoulders. Shiro tried to smile back but his mind went back to his last conversation with Keith in the dream. He cracked and tears began to fall down his cheeks. He folded in on himself and rested his head on his arms as he sobbed.

He felt like a horrible person. He had failed Keith. His best friend had been right. He had given up on him. He had always thought that there would be time, that there always be a next time when they could have a much needed conversation. He chickened out of having that conversation so much and now it had cost him his best friend. He had made so many mistakes by thinking that Keith would always be there. He took his friend for granted and now he was paying the price for it.

But Keith had been wrong that he had a happy life to come back to. His marriage had fallen apart within a year. He was living alone and trying to get a job at the Garrison so he could go into space again. The life he had thought he wanted, that he had been trying to build had fallen apart. Worse was that he had hated that life. He had felt stifled and shackled. It was like he was an actor in his own life, doing and being what others wanted at the expense of himself and his own dreams. In the end it had been a disaster waiting to happen and he had hoped that now he was out of the situation that he could make amends with his friends. Maybe even become something more with Keith. But it was too late. He was too late. He was always too late and Keith had paid the price.

He would never get to make amends and it felt like it was all his fault.


	2. Happy Ending

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The previous ending was too sad so I wrote a happy ending.

“You think I don’t know that! But it’s better than the alternative. I don’t want to be in pain everyday of my life.”

“So what? You’re just going to stay here with this dream version of me, living a fictional life while that, that thing kills you?”

“I’m tired Shiro. I’m tired of hurting. I’m tired of having everything I love taken from me. I’m tired of the people I love not choosing me and walking away. At least here I’m someone’s first choice. Here I’m not in pain, I’m happy. Why can’t you let me be happy?” Tears began to fall from Keith’s eyes as his voice quietened down to a whisper.

Keith looked down at the ground, “Just this once, I want to be happy. I want to picked by someone I love.”

Shiro’s heart shattered at Keith’s pain and his body moved without him thinking. He stepped forward and pulled Keith into his arms. The younger man instantly tried to fight against it but Shiro didn’t let go. He refused to. Thinking about it Keith was right. He had failed him and he wanted to try and make amends, and that started right now.

He held on and soon Keith’s strength failed him. He began to fall and Shiro knelt down with Keith, still holding onto him. Keith began to sob as he let out some of the pain he had been keeping inside. Shiro let his own tears fall and kept repeating apologises as he held his best friend in his arms.

Hearing the heart-wrenching sobs broke his heart and he promised himself in that moment that he was going to make things right with Keith.

Keith’s sobs eventually died down to hiccups and Shiro pulled away, “I’m so sorry you were made to feel that way Keith. It was never anyone’s intentions. I should have talked to you sooner.”

Keith glared up at him, “Why didn’t you?”

Shiro sighed, “I don’t know. Fear, cowardice. I kept telling myself ‘next time’. As time went on it became easier to not say anything. But I promise you Keith that we will have that talk, once we’re out of here.”

“Why should I believe you?”

“I know I don’t have your trust anymore but I’m willing to work on it. I swear on Allura’s memory, on Voltron that I will try. I will try to make amends with you and get your trust back.”

The two stood up and the world around them began to shake. Once it settled Keith looked back to the house. To Shiro it looked like the horizon had shrunk and the house was the only thing around but Keith seemed to be seeing something very different as he looked back. Shiro put his hand and Keith’s shoulder which caused him to turn around.

“I don’t know Shiro.”

“Keith, you have to fight. You have to want to get out of here.”

“But why?”

Shiro turned Keith around. He put his hands on his shoulders and knew that he had to get Keith to fight, “Think of your mum, think of the Blades, the Paladins, me. We all need you. Keith this won’t last long and it’s all a fantasy. But it could be real.”

Keith looked up at him, “What?”

“It’s a conversation that we need to have in the real world.”

“But…what?”

Shiro sighed, “I hated the life I was building. You’re right. It was stifling and suffocating. I was living for someone else, not for myself. I did what I thought I should, what I thought I needed but it was all wrong. I realise that now but for now we need to get out of here.”

“You…want me?”

Shiro smiled, “Yes I do, but only in the real world. But I think we both need to work on ourselves and figure out how to friends again before we become anything else.”

Keith stared up at him and Shiro began to feel uncomfortable as he wasn’t sure what was going on in Keith’s mind. Keith suddenly surged upwards and kissed Shiro. Shiro was surprised by the move and he couldn’t do anything before Keith moved away.

“Let’s get out of here.” Keith said as he took a step back.

* * *

Shiro woke with a gasp. He immediately leaned over Keith and prayed that Keith was strong enough to fight this thing and win. They all waited with bated breath to see what would happen.

The parasite then fell from Keith’s head and seemed to seize and die. The disgusting thing was thrown across the room by Shiro and they all waited to see what would happen.

Keith’s breathing and heart rate continued and it was several minutes before Keith moved. Everyone was hopeful as Keith had continued breathing after the parasite had fallen off. Eventually Keith shifted and he slowly opened his eyes. It took a few attempts but Keith did wake up and open his eyes.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and before he knew what was happening the Paladins dogpiled on top of him all yelling and exclaiming, happy that their friend was okay. Krolia herself smiled and Shiro couldn’t help the smile of his face either. Krolia cleared her throat and the Paladins got off of Keith. Krolia walked over and pressed a kiss to her son’s forehead.

Keith smiled up at his mum before he turned to Shiro. The two shared a smile and for the first time since this had all started everyone felt hopeful. Although there was a part of Keith that couldn’t help wondering if this all was only because of the parasite. He worried that it would go back to how it had been before.

But with the promise from Shiro in his mind he hoped that things were about to change. Even if he and Shiro didn’t become more than friends for a long time, or ever, it felt better knowing that Shiro wanted to be a part of his life and he hoped that it continued.


End file.
